


Reveille

by cassowarykisses



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Developing Relationship, M/M, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 08:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1976391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassowarykisses/pseuds/cassowarykisses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tailgate has taken to practicing his singing in the earliest part of the day, before Cyclonus wakes up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reveille

Cyclonus woke up slowly. That was a good sign, he thought. No more being jolted out of sleep because the fan had broken down again and the still air felt too much like the Dead Universe on his plating.

Tailgate was humming. Every so often he would quietly sing snatches of a song in the Primal Vernacular, and then trail off as he forgot the rest of the words. It wasn’t one Cyclonus had personally taught him, but he knew it – it had been famous, and it wouldn’t surprise him if one of the other crewmembers had a recording.

Cyclonus let himself drift off. There was more time to sleep, and he could use it. He was dimly aware of Tailgate practicing the song.

Dimly, Cyclonus realized Tailgate was adding his own lyrics in a pidgin of Neocybex and Primal. First, a continuation of a line he’d apparently mostly forgotten. It sounded odd, but it wasn’t bad to his audials. Tailgate had never been a bad singer – just an unpracticed one.

Then he heard his name. He dialed up his audials as he lay there, trying to catch the rest of the line. Tailgate was altering the words and exchanging the Cybertrons for Cyclonuses. He listened as Tailgate hesitantly sang through a line of his own creation, detailing Cyclonus’s skill in the air.

This was … not something Tailgate had told him. By reason, it was something Tailgate wasn’t ready to tell him, since he told Cyclonus so many things.

Letting his frame relax, Cyclonus onlined his optics. He glanced at Tailgate, who had frozen mid-word.

“Good morning,” he started to say, but Tailgate cut him off.

“Ack!” he yelped, holding his hands up in front of his chest like Whirl was throwing an energon cube at him again. “Can we pretend I didn’t just say that? Any of it?” He paused. “Or maybe if you didn’t hear anything, can we pretend I didn’t just say  _that_?”

Cyclonus sighed. “Tailgate. It would be dishonest to pretend I don’t know- “

Tailgate slumped. “Oh great!” he said, letting his arms clatter against his lap.

“Tailgate,” Cyclonus repeated, reaching out towards him. “I’m not upset.”

“Or creeped out?” Tailgate asked, glancing up at him.  “Or anything?”

“No,”Cyclonus said, sitting up. He looked down at Tailgate, taking in his bent head. “It was … nice.”

Tailgate let out a little laugh. “Never thought  _you’d_  say that.” He tilted his head back. “You actually liked it?”

“You have a good voice,” Cyclonus said. “It is a shame they never would have let you train in back in our day.”

“But you’re helping me,” Tailgate pointed out.

Cyclonus shrugged. “I never understood why our devotion could be tainted by more skilled performers, even if they were the wrong caste.”

“They don’t care about that anymore,” Tailgate said. He paused for a moment. “I mean, mostly. You still have holdouts, but it’s all war stuff now.” Tailgate looked up at Cyclonus. “Guess there had to be at least one good thing come out of the war, right?”

“I wouldn’t really call new prejudices a good thing,” Cyclonus said. Before Tailgate could deflate, he stood up and held out a hand to him. “But yes. It is a good thing that you can practice singing now, without repurcussions.”

Tailgate’s visor brightened immediately. “Thank you,” he said, and took Cyclonus’s hand.


End file.
